1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to handheld weaponry used for hunting and target shooting, and more specifically to a digital electronic camera sight which may be used with any such weapons to serve as both a sighting device and as a recording device. The present camera sight preferably includes adjustable magnification to eliminate the need for a scope, as well as a relatively wide field of view and range finding means.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, sights used for firearms and archery have used purely optical principles, ranging from conventional open sights to magnifying scopes on firearms of various types. The archery field was later in the development of specialized sighting means, with bowstring and bow mounted sighting aids and other devices being developed relatively recently. Even more recently, video recording devices (either still or motion) have been combined with firearm scopes to provide a means of recording the sight picture viewed through the firearm scope for later viewing and/or analysis.
As a result of the development of relatively small and lightweight digital cameras and video recording devices, there has been some development of the addition of such devices to archery equipment. The present inventor is aware of at least some digital electronic video recording equipment which has been installed upon an archery bow or some component thereof. However, the present inventor is unaware of any such electronic video equipment which has been developed as an archery bow sight, and which is capable of performing as a bow sight and also capable of recording the image viewed through the sight.
Accordingly, the present invention responds to this need by providing a combination camera and sight for use with an archery bow, and attachment means for mounting the camera sighting device to the bow. The present invention also includes at least one embodiment providing an alternative attachment assembly for securing the device to a firearm, e.g., a hunting or target rifle or the like. The present camera sight also includes means for determining the range to the target, and displaying the range to the shooter. The present invention also includes zoom magnification, thus eliminating the need for a relatively bulky magnifying scope while also providing a relatively large field of view for the shooter. Remotely located control switches may be provided for certain operations, e.g., zoom magnification, camera operation, etc., in order to obviate need for the shooter to move his or her hands during camera and sight operation.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,907 issued on May 7, 1985 to Leonard F. Saltzman, titled “Bow And Arrow Sighting Device,” describes a mechanically adjustable bow sight. Saltzman does not provide any means of recording a visual image viewed by or through his sight, and no magnification of the image is provided by Saltzman. While the Saltzman device provides for elevation adjustment to adjust for target range, it is a purely mechanical system and does not include any electronic display means or means for adjusting for range or adjusting the sight reticle, as provided by the present invention. Moreover, the Saltzman device is relatively restricted in its application, and cannot be installed upon a firearm, as can the present camera sight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,741 issued on Oct. 21, 1986 to Marvin L. Bordeaux et al., titled “Electronic Rangefinder For Archery,” describes a device which uses a passive principle to determine range to a target. The device requires the archer to have some idea of the size of his or her target, and then align the target between a pair of lines on the viewing screen. A given size target, when positioned exactly between lines having a certain distance therebetween, enables the device to calculate and display the range to the target on a digital readout. This system of estimating target range is approximate at best, as the exact size of the target cannot be known. Moreover, Bordeaux et al. do not provide any form of magnification or image recording.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,278 issued on Oct. 9, 1990 to Charles B. Johnson et al., titled “Day/Night Telescopic Sight,” describes a device which may be attached to the eyepiece of a firearm scope and which may be used to selectively intensify the image under low light conditions. Since the Johnson et al. device uses the existing firearm scope, it does not provide any magnification of the image per se. Moreover, as the Johnson et al. device is adapted for use with a firearm scope, no means is provided for attaching the device to an archery bow. It is also noted that no range finding means or image recording means is provided by the Johnson et al. sight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,262 issued on Jun. 4, 1991 to Louis T. Pena, titled “Camera Mount For Rifle Scopes,” describes a scope attachment using a half silvered mirror to reflect the image from the eyepiece of the scope through a series of mirrors to a camera secured atop the scope. No magnification is provided by the Pena device, as the scope provides the required magnification. Moreover, no range finding capability is disclosed by Pena in his camera mount, and any sight reticles would be provided within the scope itself, rather than in the Pena camera mount apparatus. Pena only discloses a mount for a firearm scope; no means of attaching his camera to an archery bow, is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,875 issued on Jan. 19, 1993 to Waldo A. Berry, Jr. et al., titled “Scope Adjustment For Firearms,” describes a side wheel and bevel gear arrangement for turning the concentric adjustment wheel to adjust the zoom magnification in a rifle scope. No additional sighting or optical means, or range finding means, is provided by Berry, Jr. et al. Their device operates strictly to facilitate the adjustment of an existing conventional zoom magnification adjustment on a rifle scope.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,072 issued on Nov. 19, 1996 to Gary Eldridge, titled “Electric Archery Bow Sight/Range Finder,” describes a device which requires the archer to first determine the distance to program the positioning of the sights in the device. The archer may then make an estimate of the distance to a target, with the device then providing a sight alignment according to the estimated distance. No actual means of measuring the distance to the target is provided by the Eldridge device. The Eldridge device cannot provide a digital visual image of the target, nor can it record such an image or provide image magnification. The Eldridge device only provides a sight alignment and/or digital readout of distance, according to the distance estimated by the archer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,867 issued on Jul. 20, 1999 to Deron Lautsbaugh, titled “Computerized Archery Aid,” describes an enclosed archery shooting range having video cameras situated therein. The cameras record the flight of an arrow(s) fired by an archer to provide feedback to the archer for sighting in his or her bow. No bow mounted sighting device is disclosed by Lautsbaugh.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,352 issued on Jun. 13, 2000 to Blair J. Zykan et al., titled “Laser Bow Sight Apparatus,” describes the installation of a laser rangefinder device with an archery bow. The Zykan rangefinder provides only a digital display of the distance and illuminates a corresponding sight pin or pins in a conventional archery range sight assembly. No target picture or magnification of such a picture is provided by Zykan et al. As Zykan et al. do not provide a camera with their apparatus, they cannot provide any means of recording a sight picture image, as can the present system. Moreover, Zykan et al. do not disclose any means of using their rangefinder device on a firearm, as provided by the at least one embodiment of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,880 issued on May 8, 2001 to Rhett Pitre, titled “Quick Focusing Firearm Scope,” describes a cable actuated focusing mechanism for a rifle scope or the like. The Pitre device is purely mechanical, and does not include any electrical or electronic componentry. The Pitre device includes a trigger guard mounted sector gear which engages a gear driven cable, with the cable driving a ring gear around the focusing ring of the scope. No range finding means, means of electronically or otherwise recording the image viewed through the scope, or means for providing an archery bow sight, is provided by Pitre.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,581 issued on Aug. 7, 2001 to John Groh, titled “Range Compensating Rifle Scope,” describes a rifle scope having a laser rangefinder device incorporated therewith. The device includes a program for calculating elevation based upon the range determined by the laser system, taking into account muzzle velocity and perhaps other factors as well. However, the Groh device does not provide any form of digital electronic display of the target, nor does it provide any means of recording such a display, as provided by the present invention. Moreover, Groh does not provide any means of using his scope and rangefinder with an archery bow, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,483 issued on Jun. 4, 2002 to Ronald K. Perkins, titled “Sight Apparatus,” describes a bow sight having a digital rangefinder device which communicates with an elevation sight guide having a plurality of LEDs or the like therein. A single one of the LEDs is selectively illuminated by the rangefinder, depending upon the range to the target. However, no digital electronic sight picture is provided by the Perkins device, nor is any means provided for magnifying or recording such a sight picture or using the device with a firearm. The Perkins sight assembly is thus more closely related to the sight apparatus of the '352 U.S. patent to Zykan et al., discussed further above, than it is to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,419 issued on Sep. 10, 2002 to Richard Brough et al., titled “Optical Viewing System And Clamping Device Therefor,” describes a split fiber optic bundle which divides the sight picture from the eyepiece of a firearm scope into two such pictures. One is used by the shooter to view the target, while the other is passed to a camera or the like for recording or transmitting the image. A clamping mechanism for securing the fiber optic cable bundles to the eyepiece of the scope, is also disclosed. No magnification of the image or sight reticles superimposed on the image are disclosed by Brough et al., as these features are incorporated with the scope. Moreover, Brough does not disclose any means of using his invention with an archery bow, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,083 issued on Feb. 11, 2003 to James A. Heinrich, titled “Power Focusing Device For A Telescopic Sight,” describes an electric motor using a belt to drive the focusing ring of a telescopic sight. The motor may be controlled by a remotely located wireless controller. No digital display, range finding means, or means for incorporating the device with an archery bow are disclosed by Heinrich. The Heinrich device is thus more closely related to the devices of the '875 and '880 U.S. patents respectively to Berry, Jr. et al. and Pitre, than it is to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,661 issued on Apr. 1, 2003 to Richard W. Hope, titled “Optical Imaging Device For Firearm Scope Attachment,” describes a camera or other image recording device which communicates with the eyepiece of a conventional firearm scope to record the image viewed in the scope. No magnification of the image or sight reticles are provided by Hope for his recording device, as these features are incorporated integrally with the scope. The Hope device is more closely related to the devices of the '262 and '419 U.S. patents respectively to Pena and Brough et al., discussed further above, than to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,245 issued on Apr. 29, 2003 to Larry A. Holmberg, titled “Game Hunting Video Camera,” describes a video camera having attachment fittings for attaching to the stabilizer of an archery bow. The Holmberg device is strictly a relatively conventional video recording camera having conventional zoom magnification, and is not aligned with the sight line of the archer when drawing the bow for firing an arrow. Accordingly, Holmberg does not provide any sighting reticles or other alignment means with his camera, as provided by the present bow sight invention. Moreover, Holmberg does not disclose any range finding means with his camera. This must be accomplished by some other apparatus or technique when using the Holmberg camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,291 issued on May 6, 2003 to Francis B. Hoadley, titled “Sight Apparatus For Guns And Archery Bows,” describes a tubular sight apparatus for use with firearms. No magnification or other optical enhancement is disclosed, nor is any means for recording an image or determining the distance to a target. The Hoadley device is strictly an optical alignment device. Moreover, Hoadley does not disclose any means of securing his sight to an archery bow, for use therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,512 issued on Jan. 27, 2004 to Dennis J. Sammut, titled “Gunsight And Reticle Therefor,” describes a complex optical pattern corresponding to different elevations for different ranges, muzzle velocities, etc. The Sammut reticle is intended for use with a conventional magnifying scope, and thus does not provide any other optics or magnification per se. No range finding means is provided by Sammut; this must be accomplished by other means, with the range then being used by a person using the Sammut reticle to align the reticle with the target as desired. Moreover, no means of recording an image viewed through the scope is disclosed by Sammut.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/122,248 published on Sep. 5, 2002, titled “Power Focusing Device For A Telescopic Sight,” is the prior publication of the application from which the '083 U.S. patent to Heinrich, discussed further above, issued. The same points raised in that discussion are seen to apply here as well.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/110,647 published on Jun. 19, 2003, titled “HTM Direct Drive And Positive Positioning Cross Slide And Pin Housing System,” describes an essentially conventional bead type sight with mutually orthogonal adjustments for elevation and windage. The device is not electronic and provides no magnification, no recording of the image viewed through the sight, and no active range finding means. Moreover, the '647 sight is configured only for installation upon an archery bow, with no means for installing upon a firearm being disclosed.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/31,184 published on Feb. 19, 2004, titled “Optical Imaging Device For Firearm Scope Attachment,” is a continuation of the application which led to the issued '661 U.S. patent to Hope, discussed further above. The disclosure of the '184 publication is identical to that of the issued '661 U.S. patent, and the same points raised in the discussion of the '661 U.S. patent are seen to apply here as well.
Finally, a web page published on the website maintained at the archeryhistory.com web site on the World Wide Web (www) (undated, but accessed on Mar. 11, 2004) discloses a single illustration of the Leupold Ml Optical Bow sight. The device apparently has a transparent screen up on which the target image appears when the sight is aligned with the target. A fluorescent reticle is superimposed upon the target, when the sight is aligned with the target. However, the device has a Weight of only six ounces and a price of only $39.50, which clearly rule out the incorporation of any electronics other than simple illumination of some sort (and relatively heavy battery power). No adjustment of the reticle relative to the sight picture is disclosed, nor is any means of magnifying or recording the image. Moreover, the means of attaching the device to an archery bow is not disclosed, and there is no suggestion of any adaptation for mounting the Leupold sight on a firearm, as provided by the present camera sight invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a weaponry camera sight solving the aforementioned problems is desired.